Back in 2004, Richmond voters saw local election posters encouraging them to “Reach for a better Richmond” and promising them “New Leadership, New Ideas, New Ethics.” Now, six elections later, the up-and-coming political faction behind those fliers, the Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA), could wield more influence over City Hall than ever before. …

Proposition 61 would prohibit state agencies from paying more for prescription drugs than the lowest price paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Drug companies are spending heavily to defeat the proposition. …

With the election days away, a battle over Measure M, a ballot initiative that would increase so-called documentary transfer tax rates, is suddenly heating up. In the last month, the National Association of Realtors and the California Association of Realtors spent a combined $75,000 on mailers, online ads, and telephone calls. …